Dear Editor:
There comes a time when even the most balanced minds must speak, not from partisanship, but from principle.
The passage of former President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has marked that time for me. I have long resisted reactionary politics. I have always tried to see the good, and the flaws, on both sides of the aisle. But this moment demands more than silence or centrist caution. It demands truth.
I turned 18 just weeks ago, and I did not celebrate. I sat at my desk, unsure if I would still have health insurance in a few months. I worried not only for myself, but for my grandmother, who has worked her entire life and now wonders whether she will still have the care she’s earned. That is not the America we’re supposed to be.
We are told this law is about stopping fraud. But if it were, it would not cut over $700 billion from Medicaid while cementing low corporate tax rates and funding record immigration enforcement. It would not force students and low-income workers to navigate bureaucratic labyrinths in exchange for basic coverage. Fraud is the word used, but abandonment is the policy delivered.
I’m preparing to attend college in Pennsylvania while living in Maryland. That means I will face state-level redeterminations, verifications, and possibly work reporting, just to keep the care I have now. I’m a student, not a statistic. And there are millions more like me.
The message we send to America’s youth is clear: if you are poor, if you are trying, if you are stuck in between, then the burden is yours to prove your worth. Not once, but repeatedly.
We do not build a better future by slashing the ladders people are trying to climb. We do not build strength by flexing our military while abandoning diplomacy. And we certainly do not build freedom by limiting access to the most basic services.
If this state still believes in being a beacon for those working toward something better, then we must act accordingly. I call on Maryland officials to protect Medicaid recipients–students, caregivers, low-income workers, from unnecessary red tape and coverage loss. We need clarity. We need compassion. And we need leadership.
Sincerely,
Michael Butkiewicz